Especially Because You're A Powerpuff
by LoubaTotoaygo
Summary: Boomer goes to the park to untangle his thoughts about a certain someone. What happens when she shows up? Rated T for mild swearing.
1. Chapter 1

Ok so, my first Powerpuff story. Hope you like it, started out as a minor procrastination project and evolved into an 8,000 word story. The other chapters aren't that long as I wrote it pretty much as one story and found it difficult to break into nice sections. I'd like to dedicate that to Somewei for her awesome story Taking Responsibility, a real pleasure to read. But yeah, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything etc..

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><p><span>Especially Because You're A Powerpuff<span>

Chapter One

Boomer sat listlessly in his room staring at the wall; well, glaring at the wall. It had been a rough couple of days for no other reason, he was certain, than that he existed. He could hear his brothers fighting downstairs, when would they just give it a rest? He weighed up his options:

Food.

_Nah, not hungry._

Join in the brotherly love.

_No, they probably hate me anyway._

Sleep.

_Mind was too awake for that._

Just leave.

_And do what?_

Just walk. Listen to music, etc.

_Can I be bothered to move? I guess so._

As his internal dialogue came to an end he stood up and ambled over to his desk and grabbed his keys and iPod. He paused briefly to look at a picture stuck to his wall. _This is all your fault_, he thought as he stared at it.

It wasn't anything remarkable, well that was a lie, it was a fine piece of artwork. It was a pencil drawing of Boomer staring into space, deep in thought. Clearly the artist had put some effort in but Boomer no longer saw or cared about the image. To him, all that mattered was the message scrawled on the back:

_To Boomer,_

_For all the times they call you dumb. No one who thinks this hard could be. See you around._

_Bubbles_

Not the most eloquent of messages but still. He sighed and walked downstairs, his brothers voices getting louder. He didn't know what they were arguing about and honestly he didn't care.

'Oi Boomer, where you going?' Brick demanded, cutting off Butch mid-rant.

'Out.' Boomer kept moving towards the door. He knew if he stopped his brothers would draw him into their fight. Just because he didn't know what they were fighting about didn't mean he didn't have a pretty good idea.

'Where?'

'Just out.' He opened the door, 'I won't be long.' Brick glared at him suspiciously.

'Well you'd better not be, we have to talk and you have to cook later.' Butch sniggered.

'Yeah, like the little sissy you are!'

'Whatever.' Boomer muttered as the door slammed behind him. He actually quite liked cooking if he was honest so Butch could think what he liked.

He walked quickly, letting his music wash over him, over his troubled thoughts and allowed his mind to go blank. He carried on walking and found himself at the park which was mostly empty. This didn't surprise him, the dark sky had been threatening rain all day and it was fairly chilly. He found a sheltered spot in the boughs of a large oak tree and made himself comfortable. Superpowers really had their perks. He turned off his music and, listening to the wind blow through the tree, began to unwind his thoughts.

Bubbles. Bubbles! Bubbles! BUBBLES! He couldn't stop thinking about her! He didn't want to! She just appeared unbidden into his mind and he didn't know why. This had to stop. _The key,_ thought Boomer, _is to find the root of the problem._ So he looked back, trying to remember when this had started to make his life hell.

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><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

'_Brick why do we have to go to school? We're Rowdyruffs for Christ's sake!' Butch whined._

'_Because I say so!' Brick growled. He didn't fool Boomer though. Brick was curious about learning things and to top it, he wanted one up on Blossom. That being said, he was afraid of doing it alone so had forced his brothers along for the ride. Boomer didn't mind, he was bored of doing the same childish stuff over and over again. People treated them like nuisances now, rather than villains. As far as he was concerned, new was good._

'_What are you three doing here!' a bossy female voice demanded. They turned to see Blossom marching towards them looking furious, followed closely by her sisters. Buttercup looked ready to kill but Bubbles, he was surprised to see, just looked slightly irritated and bored._

'_None of your business.' Sneered Brick._

'_It is our business if you don't want me to pummel you into the floor!' yelled Buttercup._

'_Temper, temper Butterbutt.' mocked Butch, eyeing her up with interest. Boomer had to admit, at 16 the girls had filled out nicely._

'_Don't call me that!' growled Buttercup, taking the bait. Boomer sighed._

'_We're starting school today.' He said quietly. Everyone stared at him in disbelief._

'_What!' exclaimed the girls as the boys went, 'Boomer!'_

'_What? It was getting boring.' He replied._

'_The office is down that hall and on your left. You can get your timetables and stuff there.' A voice said._

'_Bubbles!' her sisters glared at her. She looked unimpressed._

'_What? He's right, it was getting boring and I have better things to do.' She turned, 'Bye guys.' And with a wave, she left. Everyone watched her go._

'_Fine!' snapped Blossom, 'But we know you're up to something! Put a toe out of line and we'll make you wish you'd never been born!' the remaining Powerpuffs turn to follow their sister. The boys were silent._

'_Well,' said Brick._

'_Yeah,' replied Butch, 'Bubbles, who knew?' Boomer silently agreed before receiving a thump from his brother. He looked up to see an angry Brick and a smirking Butch._

'_That,' he said, 'was for telling them what we were doing here.' Boomer looked at him for a moment and then shrugged._

'_Didn't know it was a state secret.' He muttered as they walked down the corridor._

_END FLASHBACK_

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><p>Boomer smiled slightly as he thought of his first few weeks at school. He had actually enjoyed them. Once his teachers realised he was not a troublemaking Ruff and not unintelligent he got on well. Butch and Buttercup had detention practically every afternoon for fighting and Brick had joined the Student Council to annoy Blossom. This meant that he had a couple of afternoons a week off to himself. It was peaceful.<p>

But for all the interaction that his brothers had with their counterparts, Bubbles and he barely spoke to each other. The occasional polite greeting, a joke or two at the expense of their warring siblings and that was about it. It seemed strange seeing as they had most of their classes together.

But now he thought about it, things had changed on the day Bubbles snapped.

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><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

_Boomer was sitting at a lunch table with his brothers. As usual, they were sniggering about the ways they had irritated the Powerpuff Girls recently. As far as he could tell, Brick had beaten Blossom in a test by half a mark and Butch had… well he was Butch – immaturity personified. Boomer stared at his food and sighed, it was all so childish._

_Suddenly, a screeching was heard from the other side of the cafeteria. He looked up to behold an absolutely furious Bubbles._

'_Will you guys shut the hell up!' she screamed at a totally shocked Blossom and Buttercup, 'you guys have been going on for weeks about the same thing, over and over again! I think I'm going to go insane! Ok, the Rowdyruffs are irritating, you've said it a thousand times and I didn't care the first time! We are not five anymore so grow up. If I can have a perfectly rational conversation with Boomer then so can you. And if they don't feel like being adults then just walk away, OK? But don't tell me about it because I don't want to know!' and with that she stood up and stormed off leaving an open mouthed Blossom and Buttercup staring after her. There was silence for a few moments and then the returned to its usual buzz._

_The girls looked totally shell-shocked. Boomer didn't blame them, Bubbles had a reputation for a vicious temper and she had unleashed its full blast on them in front of the entire school._

'_Woah,' said Brick, 'temper much?'_

'_Yeah I know right?' replied Butch, 'did you see Butterbutt's face?'_

'_Did you see Blossom's?' Brick turned to Boomer, 'what did she say about you and her? You've been talking?' Boomer looked up._

'_Yeah, you know, say hi and stuff.' He was totally unfazed by his brothers' look of confusion and anger. Butch opened his mouth to speak but Boomer cut him off. 'She's right you know, it is childish and it is boring and you two should get over yourselves and start talking to them like real people because I know you want to.' He got up, 'see you later.' And left._

_END FLASHBACK_

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><p>His brothers hadn't spoken to him for a week after that. Well, other than 'Food. Gimme.' And Bubbles was ignored completely by her sisters, which she didn't seem to mind at all. The first couple of days he saw her, at lunch, sitting by herself under a tree in the playing fields staring into space. On the third day he had approached her and found her listening to music. She had offered him a seat and they had listened to their music separately, but together. It was like a comfortable silence. It had somewhat surprised him though that Bubbles was so antisocial, not like he remembered her at all. Then again, he was not at all like his younger self so who was he to talk. It wasn't until a week later in their Arts class that they had a proper conversation.<p>

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><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

'_Hey.' Boomer turned to look at the figure standing next to him._

'_Hey yourself.' Bubbles smiled._

'_We're supposed to work in pairs today so you want to be my partner?'_

'_Sure,' he replied, 'what's the assignment?'_

'_Portraits.'_

'_Cool, let's get started then.' They positioned themselves opposite each other and got to work. _

_They worked in silence for a while. Boomer outlined her features and then set to work on detailing and shading. He'd never being able to openly stare at Bubbles before and taken her in. She was quite pretty, he decided. With her large light blue eyes framed by long dark lashes, pink delicate lips, smooth skin with a peaches and cream complexion. Her honey blonde hair was down today and underwent a slight wave as it cascaded over her shoulders. Today she was wearing dark blue skinny jeans, blue converse and a Batman top which all in all, showed off her petite frame. He hadn't realised he had stopped drawing until he caught Bubbles staring at him staring at her._

'_Something wrong?' she asked with an amused expression on her face. He blushed._

'_N-n-no,' he stuttered, mentally cursing himself, 'I was just thinking how much you've changed.' He saw a flash of annoyance cross her features._

'_Yes, well, unlike some.' She said and left it at that. Boomer decided to take a chance._

'_Well done, by the way, for that little scene in the cafeteria the other day.' She looked at him questioningly, 'I honestly couldn't have put it better myself.' He smiled at her and after a pause, she smiled back._

'_Well they did have it coming.' She said, 'though Blossom was on her high horse when we got home. 'I know best' 'You shouldn't talk to your leader like that' blah blah blah. Her and Buttercup still treat me like a baby no matter what I do.' She sighed._

'_Tell me about it,' Boomer muttered, and then more loudly, 'still, thanks to your name drop the boys had a hissy fit.' She looked sheepish._

'_I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to drop you in it. I was just so angry.'_

'_Don't worry about it, thanks to you I got to have some choice words with Brick and Butch that they were not expecting but hopefully, they will think about.'_

'_Hopefully being the operative word.' She said._

'_Exactly.' Boomer smiled, 'you know Bubbles, you really have changed. Don't get me wrong, I like it; this is the first intelligent conversation I've had in weeks but, what happened? If I may ask?' she gave him a long, calculating look, like she was weighing up the odds. Boomer concentrated on his pencil strokes._

'_I just grew up I guess.' She said finally, 'people get older, tastes change. I found that people had this image of me that they wanted me to be and it got really old really quickly and I just wasn't interested. They want me to be happy and fun and bubbly and naive and wear dresses and be a cheerleader or something. And I am happy and fun and I do wear dresses. But not all the time. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood or I'm having a bad day. A lot of the time I wear other clothes. I'm definitely not naïve, not anymore. Still, doesn't change the way people see me. It really gets to me how blind they are. Do you know what I mean?' he looked at her in astonishment, it had been quite a speech. What had astonished him was that it was one he could have made._

'_I do,' he said, 'I really do.' He paused, 'it's all about how people see you and how you actually are. My brothers think I'm dumb and easily distracted and a sissy. But if they'd actually bother to find out, I'm not dumb I just keep my thoughts to myself, I'm not easily distracted, I'm just bored of them and cooking isn't a sissy thing to do, they're just immature.' He stopped and realised what he was saying, 'I've never told anyone that before.' He said quietly. She gave him a small smile._

'_Well I'm glad you did.' She said. The bell rang before she could say anything else and they began to put away their things. 'Here.' She handed him a sheet of paper. 'I'll see you in Chemistry on Monday.' She said walking away. He watched her go before looking at the paper. It was a pencil drawing of Boomer staring into space, deep in thought. Turning the paper over, he noticed the message scrawled on the back:_

_To Boomer,_

_For all the times they call you dumb. No one who thinks this hard could be. See you around._

_Bubbles_

_END FLASHBACK_

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><p>And he had seen her on Monday. And they had talked more. About their weekends, the music they liked, movies, occasionally putting the world to rights, once about her recent battle with the latest Townsville monster and it had carried on.<p>

That had been a month ago. He hadn't noticed when he had started anticipating their meetings, looking for her in their classes together, feeling his heart flutter when she entered a room, feeling disappointment if she did not show. Of course outwardly he had been totally normal, his casual demeanour showed nothing of the tempest that raged within.

Surprisingly, his brothers had been totally silent on the matter. Bubbles was never mentioned, at least not in front of him and thankfully neither were her sisters (except when Butch forgot to hold his tongue and Brick would kick him under the table). Everything was mostly fine. Until today. Oh god it had been his fault too. Well sort of, it had been an accident.

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><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

_It was lunchtime and as usual the cafeteria was packed as Boomer headed through. He was trying (unsuccessfully) to ignore the throng of people and the noise and sort his head out. Bubbles hadn't shown up in History (most likely defending the city) and he was worried. This worried him more because he knew that he should not be worrying about a Powerpuff Girl. Besides, Bubble could look after herself. At that point he walked smack into someone with a tray, causing them to bounce off his chest and onto the floor._

'_Oh my God, I'm so…' he began, but stopped when he saw none other than Bubbles, covered in food. 'Bubbles?' she looked up at him. She was quite obviously irritated but her face changed when she saw him. 'Bubbles, I'm really sorry.' He babbled, 'I wasn't looking where I was going.' He held out his hand to help her up. She reached out, opening her mouth to speak._

'_Hey!' shouted a voice from across the room, causing instant silence, 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' Buttercup came running over. 'Get your hands off my sister!' she yelled pushing him out of the way._

'_Are you ok?' asked Blossom, making her way towards them, 'it's ok, we saw the whole thing.' She turned to him, 'how dare you push my sister!' he stared at her wide eyed._

'_P-p-push? Me?'_

'_Yeah, you!' snarled Buttercup, 'Pick on my sister and you have to deal with me.'_

'_It was an accident.' Came a voice, Bubbles got up calmly seeing as neither of her sisters had helped her up and brushed the food off her. 'It was an accident.' She said again walking over to him, 'it's ok Boomer, I know you didn't mean to.' Blossom looked outraged._

'_Bubbles! He pushed you! We saw it!'_

'_Yeah! And now he's gonna get it!' roared Buttercup, approaching Boomer with her fist raised. No one saw Bubbles move, all they saw was Bubbles between Boomer and her sisters and Buttercup on the floor rubbing her jaw. Shock ran through the crowd. Even Brick and Butch couldn't believe it. They had been watch from the side hoping Boomer was going to get his ass kicked for laughs. Needless to say, no one saw it coming._

'_You-you hit me.' Breathed Buttercup, 'I can't believe you hit me. TO PROTECT HIM!' she yelled and sprang up._

'_I said it was an accident.' Said Bubbles coldly, 'I told you to drop it, but no, you guys wanted to pick a fight with a Rowdyruff, DON'T DENY IT BLOSSOM!' Blossom had opened her mouth to speak but shut it again in the face of her sister's fury. 'Boomer is my friend and he's a damn sight better and more mature than my sisters have been in the last month. Come on Boomer.' Without looking round to see if he would follow she marched towards the door. Boomer followed, but stopped when he heard Butch snicker under his breath._

'_Hehe, being defended by a sissy girl.' Before Butch knew it he was pinned to the wall struggling for air._

'_She is not a sissy girl, and for your information that should have been you standing by me, not her. Some brothers you guys are.' Butch dropped to the floor gasping as Boomer walked out the door._

_As it turned out Bubbles had waited for him. They walked in silence together until they were outside before she turned to him._

'_I'm sorry about them.' She looked down at her feet, 'I think I might have just done something terrible.' He didn't know what to say, she had been defending him. 'I know that they were in the wrong but I shouldn't have hit her. I just got so angry.' He saw a tear slide down her cheek._

'_No Bubbles,' he managed to say, 'thank you for defending me. I didn't want to fight with your sisters, I have nothing against them. They'll forgive you, they just won't forgive me. Please don't cry.' She looked up at him with red eyes, clearly about to deny that she was crying until she thought better of it._

'_Don't make me regret what I've just done ok? Friends?' she held out her hand to shake. As his fingers touched hers, felt the electricity shoot up his arm. It was all he could do not to jump. Her small hand in his seemed so right. _

_Out loud he said, 'Friends,' she pulled him into a hug unexpectedly. Her hair smelled like vanilla. BAD THOUGHTS! He told himself and tried to subtly disentangle himself from her despite it being the last thing he wanted to do. 'What are you going to do about your top?' he asked, and she lept away from him._

'_Oh yeah!' she exclaimed, 'I forgot, sorry about that.' She motioned to a patch on his shirt which now had a pasta sauce stain. 'Serves you right though, to be fair.' She giggled. He smiled at her. 'I guess I'll just go home and change. Take the rest of the day off.' He stared at her in mock surprise._

'_A Powerpuff? Skipping school? Has the world come to an end?'_

'_Shut up!' She laughed punching him gently on the arm. 'I'm allowed off days. Anyway, I'll see you later?'_

'_You want some company?' he sounded more hopeful than he would have liked._

'_No it's ok. I think I've pushed my sisters far enough over the edge today.' _

'_What do you mean?'_

'_They're watching us, from over there,' she pointed at a row of bushes, which obligingly gave a panicked shake as if someone was ducking from view. 'your brothers are with them.'_

'_Really?'_

'_Yeah, I saw them sneak behind there about 5 minutes ago. And, well you know, super hearing.' She grinned, 'but yeah, let's not give Buttercup an aneurism. You go your way and I'll go mine and we'll see each other tomorrow.' _

_END FLASHBACK_

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><p>So here he was. Confused, somewhat lonely and with thoughts about a girl he barely knew. <em>Well no, you do know her.<em> She had, in a way, chosen him over her sisters. Yes it was the right thing to do, but still. Blood is thicker than water; if it had been the other way around would he have done the same for her? _Yes._ The answer was there. She knew and understood him like no one else; she was the only person who had taken the time to. He was sure Brick probably knew him that well too, but unlike Bubbles, he didn't like it. Boomer was far too sensitive in Brick's opinion. He sighed, this jaunt outside hadn't helped at all. An hour had passed and he was no closer to calming his thoughts.

Someone had once told him that if he were confused, he should ask himself a question and answer it honestly. Then ask himself why? And keep asking, until the answer was clear. It had sounded stupid at the time, but nothing else seemed to be working so he decided to try it. But first, a question. He pondered.

_What are you so worried about?_ It was a pretty vague question but Boomer hadn't done this before so he could make up the rules as he went along. He thought about an answer.

_Because I don't know how I feel about Bubbles._

Why?

_Because I've never had these feelings before._

Why?

_Because I've never met anyone like her._

Why?

_Because she's a Puff and I'm a Ruff, we've never mixed before._

Why?

_What do you mean why? That's just the way it is! She's good and I'm bad._

Why?

Boomer paused his internal dialogue. It was a good question. The barriers were down now, they were friends. She had taught him that he was not the sheep that everyone seemed to think him and neither was she. Boomer decided to stop, it was getting him into uncomfortable territory.

He went over the day's events again in his head. He had attacked Butch, nothing new there, but why had he done it? _He insulted Bubbles the bastard_, he thought. He remembered his anger at Butch… and the protectiveness he felt towards Bubbles.

_Oh god,_ he thought,_ I should have seen the signs! Oh god, I'm in love with Bubbles._ His heart began to race at the thought. He should have known, he wasn't an idiot, he knew the signs. Maybe he had seen them, he had just ignored them because he didn't want it to be true.

Because he knew Bubbles would never feel the same way.

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><p>Thanks for reading, please review! Next chapter should be up in the next couple of days.<p>

LoubaTotoaygo


	2. Chapter 2

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Ok so, Chapter 2 is up! Thanks to all my reviewers, hope I don't disappoint. There's a switch in perspectives halfway through but I trust you all not to get confused!

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><p>Bubbles felt the wind in her hair as she flew home to change. It had been a hell of a day. She hadn't been in the best of moods to begin with. Her sisters had argued with her this morning about her friendship this morning. It irritated her that they just assumed that they knew best because she was their 'baby' sister. Poor Boomer, she knew it had been an accident. The look on his face when he recognised her would have told anybody that. But Blossom and Buttercup only saw what they wanted to see, that or they wanted to find a reason to turn her against Boomer.<p>

Bubbles had always been slightly proud of the fact that she held nothing against the Rowdyruff Boys, especially Boomer whom she'd always had a soft spot for. It was blindingly obvious to her that, by making the independent decision to go to school, the Ruffs were cleaning up their act. _Even if they don't all realise it, _she thought as an image of Butch flicking paper balls at her sister's head flicked through her mind.

She landed on her doorstep and let herself in. She knew the Professor was out as his car was missing from the drive. In theory, she had a blissful two hours to herself before her sisters arrived and she had to deal with the fallout of her actions at lunch. _Might as well enjoy it_, she thought and went to grab a coke from the fridge before going upstairs to her room. It was a blessing that she had her own room now, they all did. Contrary to popular belief, her room was not baby blue, it was a warm, happy yellow with various posters and photos pinned to the wall along with some of her sketches. It was also very neat. She went to her wardrobe to pick out some clothes. She decided on a plain blue vest top and a comfortable hoodie as she had no plans on leaving the house again.

_I might as well have a shower if I'm getting changed,_ she thought and went into the bathroom. She allowed the hot water to wash away her troubles for a blissful fifteen minutes, listening to the music in her head and occasionally singing along. She was putting it off, she knew it. Sooner or later she was going to have to think about Boomer. She got dressed, dried her hair, put on some relaxing background music and lay on her bed.

_Boomer. _She sighed. It was her fault and she knew it. She shouldn't have asked him to be her partner in art, it went against her better judgement. _He looked like he was an interesting person to draw_, she tried to convince herself unsuccessfully. She had caught him looking at her with such intensity it made her blush. She liked to think she'd captured a little of that look in her drawing. But she'd given it to him with that silly little note written on the back. _God when did that seem like a good idea?_

She got out her sketchbook and started doodling to distract herself. _We talked,_ she thought as she drew,_ and I told him how it felt to be me and he totally got it_. He felt the same, they were the same. Underestimated by their siblings, bored with their silly games, she didn't feel quite so alone in her head when he was around. _And gradually…_ _I fell for him_ she thought sadly, looking down at the page. Boomer stared back at her, his eyes unflinching at her revelation. _Why did it have to be Boomer? _She thought,_ a Rowdyruff for heaven's sake. Bubbles you sure can pick 'em._ Boomer was different though, _and there's no denying that he's very easy on the eyes._ She looked at her picture, it was a pretty faithful representation. Thick golden blonde locks just covering his soft, deep blue eyes, his mouth unsmiling as looked up at her from the page.

There was a bang downstairs making Bubbles jump from her revelry.

'Right! Where the hell is she!' she heard Buttercup storming up the stairs and managed to snap her sketchbook shut before the door flew open. 'How dare you!' Buttercup screamed, 'how dare you choose him over us! You're our sister!' She continued to rant along the same lines as Blossom entered the room.

'Buttercup, be quiet! This isn't getting us anywhere!' putting her hand on her shoulder she stayed Buttercup's wrath. _Typical,_ Bubbles thought_, the only time they get along is to have a go at me_. 'Bubbles, do you want to explain yourself?' it was clear from her stance and superior attitude that Blossom believed herself in the right. _She's going to listen to my side of the story like a good leader should and then explain to me exactly why I'm wrong and why I should beg their forgiveness. Well she's going to be disappointed._

Bubbles got up and began to put her sketchbook and pencils in a bag, 'I want to ask you guys a question.' She said calmly, picking up her keys, 'and I promise that if you answer truthfully then I will explain all.' Buttercup and Blossom glanced at each other.

'OK.' Said Blossom, 'go on.' Bubbles swung the bag over her shoulder and looked at them.

'Can you swear on my life right now that you saw Boomer push me in the cafeteria today?' there was silence. Bubbles could see the struggle of conscience behind their eyes, _honestly their poker faces are appalling, I shall tell them one day,_ she thought as she waited.

'Yes,' Blossom replied coldly, 'Yes we did. Didn't we Buttercup?' Buttercup hesitated before agreeing.

'Yeah, we saw him.' Bubbles gave them a disappointed look.

'It's nice to know how highly you regard my life. Excuse me.' She barged past them.

'Hey!' exclaimed Blossom, 'we are not done here!' she tried to grab Bubbles but failed.

'Yes we are. I asked a question, you lied, discussion over.' She made it to the door.

'Bubbles!' Buttercup grabbed her wrist, 'where are you going!' Bubbles could see the slightly panicked look in her sister's eyes and felt sorry for her.

'Out.' She replied shortly, wrenching her wrist from Buttercup's hand, 'but don't worry, I'll come back.' She took off.

Bubbles went where she always went in search of peace, the park. She would sit under a tree with her sketchbook and draw her anger away… or until she was less angry. She increased her altitude until her breath became short, found her markers and then let gravity take her. Free falling was a great way of letting off steam she had found a while back. As she streaked towards the earth, she felt the adrenaline rush through her body, giving her a natural high. She let out a whoop as she reached maximum velocity, watching the ground get closer and closer, waiting until the last possible moment to pull up.

She left it a tiny bit too late and caused a small crater in the centre of the park as she landed. She heard someone running towards her as she struggled to stand steady on her dizzying high. Someone put a hand round her waist as she was walked to what happened to be her favourite tree. The stranger lowered her down and sat in front of her.

'Bubbles?' said a familiar voice, 'are you ok?'

She looked up. Boomer was looking at her with large worried eyes. She gave him a beaming smile, she couldn't help it. Despite everything she was really glad to see him.

'Boomer, I'm fine, just miscalculated a bit and got a bit dizzy.' He looked perplexed and she felt the need to explain further. 'In times of stress I like to free fall from the lower atmosphere. It gives a great high and tends to make you forget your troubles,' she paused to look at him, 'at least for a little while. This time I just didn't pull up soon enough and the physics were against me.' He still looked worried, his thoughts spelled out on his face. 'I'm Not Suicidal.' She said clearly. She sat back against the tree and inhaled deeply. 'What are you doing here anyway?' she queried.

* * *

><p>Boomer knew Bubbles would never feel the same way. That moment of revelation made his heart ache like nothing he had ever felt before including some of the bruises she had given him. He was about to give in to depression when he heard a loud whoop coming from above him. Hopping down from the tree he looked up into the sky. He saw something falling towards the earth, fast. It was definitely person shaped. He saw blonde hair streaming out behind it. <em>No, it couldn't be<em> he thought. The figure was about forty metres up before his instincts reacted to the sight of an unmistakable falling Bubbles. But before he could do anything she pulled up, slowing her descent dramatically though still hitting the earth with a thump that made the ground shake.

He ran over to the crater, _oh god, oh god please let her be alive_ he thought. She was standing, just. She couldn't seem to orientate herself with the ground. If he hadn't been so worried it might have been funny.

'Bubbles? Are you ok?'

She looked up. Boomer did a quick scan to see if everything was ok. Thankfully, other than grazed palms she seemed fine. She gave him a beaming smile as he encircled her waist with his arm led her over to his tree trying to ignore how close she was. She was still a bit shaky on her feet it seemed.

'Boomer, I'm fine, just miscalculated a bit and got a bit dizzy.' _Miscalculated? What the hell?_ She went on, 'In times of stress I like to free fall from the lower atmosphere. It gives a great high and tends to make you forget your troubles,' she paused to look at him with a strange expression on her face, 'at least for a little while. This time I just didn't pull up soon enough and the physics were against me.' _Physics? Does she have a death wish? Is she suicidal or just mad?_ 'I'm Not Suicidal.' She said clearly as if reading his mind. She sat back against the tree and inhaled deeply. 'What are you doing here anyway?' she queried.

Boomer avoided looking at her, 'Just wanted to get out of the house, a lot to think about. You?'

'Same to be honest. Blossom and Buttercup were ranting at me and I needed space to clear my head.' She looked at him, 'Do you want to talk about it?' she asked innocently.

_Not with you_ he thought. 'I've been here a while, I think I got my answer.' He picked at the grass refusing to make eye contact.

'Oh,' she seemed put out, 'well, what was it?' he stiffened.

'What?'

'What was your answer?' his mind went blank as he panicked, trying to find anything else to tell her. 'Boomer are you ok?' she moved closer to him and put her hand on his arm, 'you look like a rabbit caught in headlights. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to.' He looked at her. She looked so beautiful to him right there, her eyes shining with concern and guilt that she had made him feel bad. _Be still my beating heart_ he thought.

'No it's ok.' He said with more conviction than he felt, 'Just maybe later ok?' he smiled weakly.

'Ok,' she smiled back, 'I'm so glad we're friends Boomie.' She stopped short and blushed, 'I'm sorry Boomer I have no idea where that came from.'_Damnit she looks so cute when she blushes! Is she intentionally making this harder for me?_

'Um it's fine, just only on special occasions ok?' he joked. He looked away. She was so close, he could feel her shivering. _Wait a second_, 'are you cold?' he asked.

'A little,' she admitted, 'I did just fall around 30,000 feet remember.' He smiled as he took off his jacket and gave it to her. 'You won't get cold?'

'Doubt it so don't worry.' She put it on without further hesitation; Boomer looked at her and decided he liked the way she looked in his clothes. She moved close to him and pulled her knees up to her chest.

'Can I ask you something?'

'Sure.'

'What is so wrong with us being friends?' Why do they have to make such a big deal out of it?' She looked at him with a frown on her face.

'I guess it's because,' Boomer thought for a moment, 'I guess it's because they don't like change.' He looked back at her. Clearly he had not said what she had expected him to say. 'What?' he said defensively.

'Nothing,' she smiled, 'Boomie, you're so deep you're bottomless.' She laughed. Boomer frowned, he didn't know if she was laughing at him and he didn't like it. She caught his frown. 'Don't worry, I'm not laughing at you, just myself.'

'Why?'

'I dunno. You made me realise how small minded I'm being. I should pity our siblings rather than be angry at them no matter how irritating they become.'

'I wouldn't say that, they can be pretty irritating.' They laughed together. 'I feel kinda sorry for Brick and Butch though. It's as plain as anything they like your sisters, they just don't know what to do about it. It's a bit pathetic really.'

'Really?'

'Well it is if you know what to look for. The constant attention seeking is one thing, Butch having a hissy fit every time Buttercup talks to another boy. Even Brick has a silent fume. It's amusing to watch.' He stopped, Bubbles was smiling but rather sadly. 'Did I say something wrong?' he asked.

'What? No!' she said quickly, too quickly. 'I mean.' She looked nervous. 'What about you?' she finally blurted out. Boomer was confused.

'What do you mean 'what about me?' I already have your attention don't I? And you actually like me so I'd say…' He stopped as he realised what he was saying. Bubbles was staring at him in disbelief. She wasn't smiling. Boomer opened and shut his mouth a couple of times, trying to think of a way to take his words back. There was only one option left to him. Flee.

'I-I-I have to go.' He stood up so quickly he felt dizzy and took off before Bubbles could say anything. He thought he might have heard her yell as he sped away but he didn't stop. Not until he reached home and his room, breathing heavily as he fell onto his bed. 'Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!' he yelled at no one in particular.

'I couldn't agree more.' Brick was standing in Boomer's doorway, clearly ready for a confrontation. 'It's time you explained about you and the blue Puff.' Boomer couldn't take it, it was too much. He marched towards his brother with a face resembling the wrath of God.

'YOU WORK IT OUT!' he yelled, 'OTHERWISE LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!' slamming the door in Brick's face and possibly causing a small seismic event. He retreated back to his bed to lie down. Then he got up again to pace his floor. Sat in his chair, all the while replaying the events of the last half an hour. She probably hated him. The moment he realised he loved her and he screwed it up. Now he couldn't even look at her, let alone be her friend.

It was at this point a small knock came from his door. He glared at it, the knock came again slightly louder this time. 'Boomer?' Boomer's heart almost stopped. Bubbles was HERE?

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><p>Again read and review please :)<p>

LoubaTotoaygo


	3. Chapter 3

Final chapter! And posted on my birthday! A gift from me to you.

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><p>'Well it is if you know what to look for. The constant attention seeking is one thing, Butch having a hissy fit every time Buttercup talks to another boy. Even Brick has a silent fume. It's amusing to watch.' <em>I guess if those are the signs then there's no hope of my feelings being returned <em>Bubbles thought, 'Did I say something wrong?' he asked.

'What? No!' she said quickly, too quickly. 'I mean.' _Do I ask him? I need to know for my sanity's sake._ 'What about you?' she finally blurted out. Boomer looked confused.

'What do you mean 'what about me?' I already have your attention don't I? And you actually like me so I'd say…' He stopped as he realised what he was saying. Bubbles stared at him, her thoughts going a hundred miles a minute _oh my God, oh my God, can I hope? Is that what this means?_ Boomer opened and shut his mouth a couple of times.

'I-I-I have to go.' He said suddenly, standing up and taking off before Bubbles could say anything.

'Boomer wait!' she yelled after his retreating form. He didn't turn back or look round as he disappeared into the distance.

_What do I do now?_

_Go after him _came the immediate reply.

_And say what?_

_Bubbles, the poor boy essentially just told you how he felt and then ran away. What does that tell you?_

_He… likes me?_

_Top marks, so go and tell him how you feel._

_But what if…_

_GO!_

She took to the sky, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Boomer when she arrived.

_Should I just declare my love? Pretend it never happened? Serenade him? What do people say in these situations? Why'd he freak out in the first place? Eugh boys._

She landed on the doorstep of Mojo's hideout and took a deep breath to strengthen her resolve. _Some Dutch courage would be great right about now_ she thought sarcastically. Raising her hand, she knocked three times. _Knocking politely on Mojo's door, no there's something I thought would never happen... Then again I am in love with a Rowdyruff._

The door opened and she was faced with an angry looking Butch.

'What do you want?' he sneered. Butch didn't scare her but it wouldn't hurt her mission to be polite.

'Is Boomer home?' she forced a friendly smile.

'Who wants to know?'

_Clearly me asshole, _'Me. Is he in?' Butch looked her up and down and gave another sneer.

'Hey Brick,' he called over his shoulder, 'come look who's at the door. A little blue puff looking for Boomer.' Brick appeared with a dark look on his face.

'Shouldn't you be at home doing your hair or something?' he asked. Bubbles eyed him warily, Brick was as smart and unpredictable as Blossom but meaner.

'Look is Boomer home or not?' she was starting to lose her patience.

'He is but doesn't mean you can see him. Now fly away home Bubblebrain before I kick you there.' Bubbles glared at him, _fine_ she thought, _we'll do it the hard way._

'You know,' she pretended to check her nails, 'upsetting me would be very detrimental to your efforts with my sisters. One word from me and they'll never look at you again or they'll just kill you.'

Brick's face deadpanned. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Yeah, and your sisters could never defeat us.' Butch snarled.

'Sure you don't.' Bubbles smirked. 'and I never said defeat, I said kill. Go on rough me up a bit. I'll just go home in tears,' she paused and allowed her eyes to well up, 'and tell them how you guys b-beat me up for n-no reason and then,' she sniffed, 't-touched me.' she wiped her eyes and smiled at them. 'Good luck surviving their wrath after that.'

Brick and Butch looked horrified. 'But that's a lie! We wouldn't... You wouldn't!'

'Try me.' They looked at each other.

'You're evil.' said Butch disbelievingly.

'Can I see Boomer now?' she asked sweetly.

'Fine.' Growled Brick and let her through. She skipped past them.

'Thanks.' she sang, 'by the way, Blossom can't resist chocolate and Buttercup's favourite flowers are daisies.' She ran up the stairs giggling at their faces. She made her way down the corridor, thankfully all the boy's rooms had been helpfully named. She stopped outside Boomer's door, took a deep breath and knocked.

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><p>'Boomer?' Boomer stared at the door like it was about to explode. 'Boomer? Can I come in?' Boomer scanned his room. <em>Not too bad<em>, he thought, _nothing embarrassing out_. He walked to the door and opened it slowly.

'Bubbles? What are you doing here?' she looked nervous.

'I came to see you,' she paused, 'you left so quickly, I wanted to check you were ok. Can I come in?'

'I guess.' he stood back and motioned her inside before shutting the door behind her. He watched her as she stood awkwardly beside his bed glancing nervously around his room. 'Bubbles?' her eyes snapped to him.

'Yes?'

'Why are you here?' she shifted from foot to foot.

'Isn't it obvious?' she was barely audible. Boomer blushed and changed topic.

'How did you even get in?'

'I, um, knocked on the door.'

'The front door?'

'Yeh.' Boomer was dumbstruck.

'And Brick and Boomer just let you in? Wait, did they hurt you? Cuz I swear if they did I'll...' he was cut off by Bubbles' mischievous giggle.

'No they didn't hurt me. We had a,' she paused to find the right word, 'chat.' she smiled again. 'I don't think they'll ever see me the same way again but we have an understanding now.' She moved towards him, 'Boomer, what would you have done if they'd hurt me?'

_Shit,_ Boomer hadn't been ready for that. He opened and shut his mouth a few times. She took another step closer causing him to retreat without thinking. His actions caused her to stop and look at him guiltily. 'I-I-I dunno.' He looked at his feet.'Tried to help I guess. You defended me against your sisters so... I guess we'd be quits.' _Coward,_ he thought, _you would have beaten them within an inch of their lives and then some._

'Oh.' she sounded disappointed. _She's so beautiful, _he thought. She was still standing awkwardly and he finally remembered his newfound manners.

'Sit down Bubbles, do you want a drink?'

Giving him a small smile, she moved to sit on his bed 'No thank you.' He sat next to her trying to think of something to say. 'Boomer, can I ask you something?' she asked suddenly. Boomer shifted uncomfortably.

'Um yeah, I guess.' He watched her fidget. Clearly this was taking some effort.

'Promise you won't get mad and we'll still be friends.' _Uh oh,_ he thought, _this can only go badly._

'Ok Bubbles, I promise.'

'Ok, umm.' She took a deep breath and locked her blue eyes to his. 'What did you mean before? You know, when you left me in the park? When you said you had my attention.'

Boomer didn't know what to do. He had kind of been expecting this but as much as he hated it, he couldn't say no to her. _What do I do? Do I tell her I love her? No! That's stupid! _She was staring at him with such intensity, the kind that only crystal blue eyes could achieve. He couldn't even look away. _God she's so beautiful, _he thought again.

'Boomer?' her forehead furrowed with worry. She moved slightly closer to him and put her hand on his sending his pulse skyrocketing. 'You do have my attention you know. My full attention.' Boomer felt giddy, his senses were overwhelmed by her closeness and the words falling from her lips. _Those gorgeous, soft pink lips..._

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><p>'You do have my attention you know. My full attention.' <em>Oh god, oh god, what am I saying? <em>Boomer was staring at her. She was sure she was either making no sense or sounding like a slut. _He's so close._ His hand felt warm, _oh my god I'm holding his hand, when did that happen? He's... He's getting closer..._

Without warning Boomer's lips crashed into hers. Bubbles responded without thinking, kissing him back with fervour as she wound her fingers into his hair. Boomer wrapped his hands round her waist and pulled her so close she was practically sitting on top of him.

Then just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. _No!_ Bubbles thought, _it felt so right._

'Bubbles.' she looked at him. His eyes were full of anguish. 'Bubbles I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I didn't mean to... I just.' _Stupid boy._

'Boomer shut up.' she breathed as she kissed him again. She could feel him stiffen in shock at her actions. She pulled back. 'I want you and only you. I love you.'

'You... You do?' she put her forehead to his.

'I do.' she smiled.

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><p>'I do.' she replied. Boomer's mind was in overdrive.<p>

'Even though I'm a Rowdyruff?'

'Especially because you're a Rowdyruff.' he couldn't believe it. She was there in his arms, giving herself to him freely. He hadn't meant to kiss her, but she had been too irresistible and he had been weak and acted on impulse. He had stopped when he realised what he was doing and apologised but she had just batted it away like an irritating fly and declared her love. There was only one thing to do.

'Bubbles.' he said drawing her closer.

'Yeh?'

'I love you too.' he kissed her again, this time slowly and softly. _Especially because you're a Powerpuff._

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><p><em><em>The End. Hope you enjoyed reading and the end wasn't too corny or whatever. It's been fun.

LoubaTotoaygo


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